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U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he has not decided whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns from Chinese President Xi Jinping, following a summit both leaders described as aimed at stabilizing U.S.-China relations. Trump made the remarks while flying back to Washington after concluding crucial talks in which the two presidents said they had achieved important progress, despite deep differences that remain on issues such as Iran and Taiwan.
Trump’s comments on Taiwan came after Xi raised China’s opposition to Taiwan independence and after Trump said he reviewed the concerns Xi expressed about possible arms sales. “Tomaré decisiones,” Trump said, adding, “pero, ya saben, lo último que necesitamos ahora mismo es una guerra que está a 9.500 millas de distancia.”
Trump said he “heard” Xi’s message about Taiwan but did not offer a public response. “Lo escuché,” he said. “No hice ningún comentario.”
The Taiwan-related arms question is politically sensitive in Washington because the previous Trump administration actions already put large sales in motion. In December, Republicans in the Trump administration authorized a record $11 billion weapons package for Taipei, according to the report, and it had not yet materialized. Lawmakers also approved in January a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, but the sale could not advance until Trump formally sent it to Congress, the report said. China opposes such sales and has said the U.S. relationship with the self-governing island is a key factor in ties with Washington.
Analysts cited in the report said Trump’s consultations with Xi about Taiwan arms could violate the “Six Assurances,” a set of non-binding U.S. policy principles formulated in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. The second assurance states that the United States “does not agree to consult with the People’s Republic of China about arms sales to Taiwan,” the report said, and Trump pointed to the Six Assurances as a topic that surfaced in his conversations with Xi.
In addition to Taiwan, Trump described a potential nuclear-track proposal discussed with Xi. He said Xi appeared “muy positivo” about a possible nuclear agreement and indicated that Trump had proposed a tripartite deal among the United States, Russia and China that would limit the number of warheads. “Obtuve una respuesta muy positiva,” Trump said. “Este es el comienzo.”
The report said Trump’s comments reflected the context that the New START nuclear arms treaty between Russia and the United States expired in February, eliminating limits on the two largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than half a century. It also cited U.S. estimates that China has more than 600 operational warheads and that the United States and Russia each have more than 5,000, while also reporting the Pentagon’s estimate that China could have more than 1,000 operational warheads by 2030.
During Xi’s reception of Trump at Zhongnanhai, the leaders held a series of events that Trump described with personal impressions of the setting, including a brief garden walk and time for tea and a lunch. The report said they spent nearly three hours together with advisers and translators, and it described Trump commenting on the beauty of the roses and Xi promising to send seeds. Xi characterized the visit as a milestone, saying “Hemos establecido una nueva relación bilateral, o más bien una relación constructiva, estratégica y estable,” according to the report.
Despite that positive tone, the report said the optimism ran into hard disagreements over Taiwan and Iran. It said Beijing showed little public interest in Washington’s requests for China to engage more in Iran diplomacy, even as Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News that Xi had offered to help. It also said U.S. officials have accused Chinese companies of providing satellite imagery to Iran and the U.S. Treasury has taken steps involving Chinese refiners accused of buying Iranian crude and those responsible for transporting it.
For Taiwan, the report said Xi warned Trump during private conversations that differences over the self-governing island, if mishandled, could put the two powers on a path toward “choques e incluso conflictos,” citing Chinese government officials. It said Trump, after returning to the United States, told reporters he was not concerned that the relationship was in danger, saying, “Creo que estaremos bien.”
U.S. officials continued to emphasize Taiwan’s security posture. The report said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that the White House’s policy toward Taipei “no ha cambiado” and warned it would be “un terrible error” for China to try to take the island by force. Rubio also described Xi’s comments as a routine way of raising Taiwan in discussions, the report said. It further reported that some Republicans in Congress expressed unease with Trump’s stance that he had not decided whether to proceed with the arms package, including Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, who said, “Tenemos que apoyar a Taiwán, igual que tenemos que apoyar a Ucrania,” and Representative Michael McCaul, who said he was not surprised by Xi’s aggressive position and urged rearmament for deterrence.
Trump and Xi also discussed Iran and energy security during their talks, the report said. It said the leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz — described as largely closed since the start of the Iran conflict that began Feb. 28 — should reopen to meet global energy demand. The report said about 20% of the oil traded worldwide passed through the strait before the war began and that Trump and Xi also aligned on wanting an outcome in which Iran does not have a nuclear weapon.
The report said White House officials also described Xi as opposing any tolling scheme for ships crossing Hormuz and showing interest in China buying more oil from the United States to reduce future dependence on Gulf crude. Earlier in the week, Trump had downplayed the significance of the Iran talks with Xi, while the report said the conflict had already lasted 11 weeks, pushed energy prices higher and threatened the global economy, unless it ends soon.